TRV
Translation
Complete Jewish Bible
A spring doesn’t send both fresh and bitter water from the same opening, does it?
American Standard Version
Doth the fountain send forth from the same opening sweet water and bitter?
World English Bible Messianic
Does a spring send out from the same opening fresh and bitter water?
Young's Literal Translation
doth the fountain out of the same opening pour forth the sweet and the bitter?
In the KJVVerse 30,331 of 31,102
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Commentary on James 3 verses 1–12
1 ¶ My brethren, be not many masters, knowing that we shall receive the greater condemnation.
2 For in many things we offend all. If any man offend not in word, the same is a perfect man, and able also to bridle the whole body.
3 Behold, we put bits in the horses' mouths, that they may obey us; and we turn about their whole body.
4 Behold also the ships, which though they be so great, and are driven of fierce winds, yet are they turned about with a very small helm, whithersoever the governor listeth.
5 Even so the tongue is a little member, and boasteth great things. Behold, how great a matter a little fire kindleth!
6 And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity: so is the tongue among our members, that it defileth the whole body, and setteth on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire of hell.
7 For every kind of beasts, and of birds, and of serpents, and of things in the sea, is tamed, and hath been tamed of mankind:
8 But the tongue can no man tame; it is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison.
9 Therewith bless we God, even the Father; and therewith curse we men, which are made after the similitude of God.
10 Out of the same mouth proceedeth blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not so to be.
11 Doth a fountain send forth at the same place sweet water and bitter?
12 Can the fig tree, my brethren, bear olive berries? either a vine, figs? so can no fountain both yield salt water and fresh.
The foregoing chapter shows how unprofitable and dead faith is without works. It is plainly intimated by what this chapter first goes upon that such a faith is, however, apt to make men conceited and magisterial in their tempers and their talk. Those who set up faith in the manner the former chapter condemns are most apt to run into those sins of the tongue which this chapter condemns. And indeed the best need to be cautioned against a dictating, censorious, mischievous use of their tongues. We are therefore taught,
I. Not to use our tongues so as to lord it over others: My brethren, be not many masters, etc., Jam 3:1. These words do not forbid doing what we can to direct and instruct others in the way of their duty or to reprove them in a Christian way for what is amiss; but we must not affect to speak and act as those who are continually assuming the chair, we must not prescribe to one another, so as to make our own sentiments a standard by which to try all others, because God gives various gifts to men, and expects from each according to that measure of light which he gives. "Therefore by not many masters" (or teachers, as some read it); "do not give yourselves the air of teachers, imposers, and judges, but rather speak with the humility and spirit of learners; do not censure one another, as if all must be brought to your standard." This is enforced by two reasons. 1. Those who thus set up for judges and censurers shall receive the greater condemnation. Our judging others will but make our own judgment the more strict and severe, Mat 7:1, Mat 7:2. Those who are curious to spy out the faults of others, and arrogant in passing censures upon them, may expect that God will be as extreme in marking what they say and do amiss. 2. Another reason given against such acting the master is because we are all sinners: In many things we offend all, Jam 3:2. Were we to think more of our own mistakes and offenses, we should be less apt to judge other people. While we are severe against what we count offensive in others, we do not consider how much there is in us which is justly offensive to them. Self-justifiers are commonly self-deceivers. We are all guilty before God; and those who vaunt it over the frailties and infirmities of others little think how many things they offend in themselves. Nay, perhaps their magisterial deportment, and censorious tongues, may prove worse than any faults they condemn in others. Let us learn to be severe in judging ourselves, but charitable in our judgments of other people.
II. We are taught to govern our tongue so as to prove ourselves perfect and upright men, and such as have an entire government over ourselves: If any man offend not in word, the same is a perfect man, and able also to bridle the whole body. It is here implied that he whose conscience is affected by tongue-sins, and who takes care to avoid them, is an upright man, and has an undoubted sign of true grace. But, on the other hand, if a man seemeth to be religious (as was declared in the first chapter) and bridleth not his tongue, whatever profession he makes, that man's religion is vain. Further, he that offends not in word will not only prove himself a sincere Christian, but a very much advanced and improved Christian. For the wisdom and grace which enable him to rule his tongue will enable him also to rule all his actions. This we have illustrated by two comparisons: - 1. The governing and guiding of all the motions of a horse, by the bit which is put into his mouth: Behold, we put bits into the horses' mouths, that they may obey us, and we turn about their whole body, Jam 3:3. There is a great deal of brutish fierceness and wantonness in us. This shows itself very much by the tongue: so that this must be bridled; according to Psa 39:1, I will keep my mouth with a bridle (or, I will bridle my mouth) while the wicked is before me. The more quick and lively the tongue is, the more should we thus take care to govern it. Otherwise, as an unruly and ungovernable horse runs away with his rider, or throws him, so an unruly tongue will serve those in like manner who have no command over it. Whereas, let resolution and watchfulness, under the influence of the grace of God, bridle the tongue, and then all the motions and actions of the whole body will be easily guided and overruled. 2. The governing of a ship by the right management of the helm: Behold also the ships, which though they are so great, and are driven of fierce winds, yet are they turned about with a very small helm whithersoever the governor listeth. Even so the tongue is a little member, and boasteth great things, Jam 3:4, Jam 3:5. As the helm is a very small part of the ship, so is the tongue a very small part of the body: but the right governing of the helm or rudder will steer and turn the ship as the governor pleases; and a right management of the tongue is, in a great measure, the government of the whole man. There is a wonderful beauty in these comparisons, to show how things of small bulk may yet be of vast use. And hence we should learn to make the due management of our tongues more our study, because, though they are little members, they are capable of doing a great deal of good or a great deal of hurt. Therefore,
III. We are taught to dread an unruly tongue as one of the greatest and most pernicious evils. It is compared to a little fire placed among a great deal of combustible matter, which soon raises a flame and consumes all before it: Behold, how great a matter a little fire kindleth! And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity, etc., Jam 3:5, Jam 3:6. There is such an abundance of sin in the tongue that it may be called a world of iniquity. How many defilements does it occasion! How many and dreadful flames does it kindle! So is the tongue among the members that it defileth the whole body. Observe hence, There is a great pollution and defilement in sins of the tongue. Defiling passions are kindled, vented, and cherished by this unruly member. And the whole body is often drawn into sin and guilt by the tongue. Therefore Solomon says, Suffer not thy mouth to cause thy flesh to sin, Ecc 5:6. The snares into which men are sometimes led by the tongue are insufferable to themselves and destructive of others. It setteth on fire the course of nature. The affairs of mankind and of societies are often thrown into confusion, and all is on a flame, by the tongues of men. Some read it, all our generations are set on fire by the tongue. There is no age of the world, nor any condition of life, private or public, but will afford examples of this. And it is set on fire of hell. Observe hence, Hell has more to do in promoting of fire of the tongue than men are generally aware of. It is from some diabolical designs, that men's tongues are inflamed. The devil is expressly called a liar, a murderer, an accuser of the brethren; and, whenever men's tongues are employed in any of these ways, they are set on fire of hell. The Holy Ghost indeed once descended in cloven tongues as of fire, Acts 2. And, where the tongue is thus guided and wrought upon by a fire from heaven, there it kindleth good thoughts, holy affections, and ardent devotions. But when it is set on fire of hell, as in all undue heats it is, there it is mischievous, producing rage and hatred, and those things which serve the purposes of the devil. As therefore you would dread fires and flames, you should dread contentions, revilings, slanders, lies, and every thing that would kindle the fire of wrath in your own spirit or in the spirits of others. But,
IV. We are next taught how very difficult a thing it is to govern the tongue: For every kind of beasts, and of birds, and of serpents, and of things in the sea, is tamed, and hath been tamed, of mankind. But the tongue can no man tame, Jam 3:7, Jam 3:8. As if the apostle had said, "Lions, and the most savage beasts, as well as horses and camels, and creatures of the greatest strength, have been tamed and governed by men: so have birds, notwithstanding their wildness and timorousness, and their wings to bear them up continually out of our reach: even serpents, notwithstanding all their venom and all their cunning, have been made familiar and harmless: and things in the sea have been taken by men, and made serviceable to them. And these creatures have not been subdued nor tamed by miracle only (as the lions crouched to Daniel, instead of devouring him, and ravens fed Elijah, and a whale carried Jonah through the depths of the sea to dry land), but what is here spoken of is something commonly done; not only hath been tamed, but is tamed of mankind. Yet the tongue is worse than these, and cannot be tamed by the power and art which serves to tame these things. No man can tame the tongue without supernatural grace and assistance." The apostle does not intend to represent it as a thing impossible, but as a thing extremely difficult, which therefore will require great watchfulness, and pains, and prayer, to keep it in due order. And sometimes all is too little; for it is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison. Brute creatures may be kept within certain bounds, they may be managed by certain rules, and even serpents may be so used as to do not hurt with all their poison; but the tongue is apt to break through all bounds and rules, and to spit out its poison on one occasion or other, notwithstanding the utmost care. So that not only does it need to be watched, and guarded, and governed, as much as an unruly beast, or a hurtful and poisonous creature, but much more care and pains will be needful to prevent the mischievous outbreakings and effects of the tongue. However,
V. We are taught to think of the use we make of our tongues in religion and in the service of God, and by such a consideration to keep it from cursing, censuring, and every thing that is evil on other occasions: Therewith bless we God, even the Father; and therewith curse we men, who are made after the similitude of God. Out of the same mouth proceed blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not so to be, Jam 3:9, Jam 3:10. How absurd is it that those who use their tongues in prayer and praise should ever use them in cursing, slandering, and the like! If we bless God as our Father, it should teach us to speak well of, and kindly to, all who bear his image. That tongue which addresses with reverence the divine Being cannot, without the greatest inconsistency, turn upon fellow-creatures with reviling brawling language. It is said of the seraphim that praise God, they dare not bring a railing accusation. And for men to reproach those who have not only the image of God in their natural faculties, but are renewed after the image of God by the grace of the gospel: this is a most shameful contradiction to all their pretensions of honouring the great Original. These things ought not so to be; and, if such considerations were always at hand, surely they would not be. Piety is disgraced in all the shows of it, if there be not charity. That tongue confutes itself which one while pretends to adore the perfections of God, and to refer all things to him, and another while will condemn even good men if they do not just come up to the same words or expressions used by it. Further, to fix this thought, the apostle shows that contrary effects from the same causes are monstrous, and not be found in nature, and therefore cannot be consistent with grace: Doth a fountain send forth at the same place sweet water and bitter? Can the fig-tree bear olive-berries, or a vine, figs? Or doth the same spring yield both salt water and fresh? Jam 3:11, Jam 3:12. True religion will not admit of contradictions; and a truly religious man can never allow of them either in his words or his actions. How many sins would this prevent, and recover men fRom. to put them upon being always consistent with themselves!
Matthew Henry (1662–1714) — Commentary on the Whole Bible. This section covers verses 1–12. Public domain.
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Hilary of ArlesAD 449
INTRODUCTORY TRACTATE ON THE LETTER OF JAMES
The spring is the heart of man, the flowing stream of water is his speech, and the opening through which it pours is his mouth. The sweet water is sound doctrine, while the bitter water is just the opposite.
OecumeniusAD 990
Commentary on James
From out of the same mouth come blessing and cursing. My brothers, this should not be done. Does the fountain give forth out of one hole sweet and sour water? Can, my brethren, the fig tree yield grapes: or the vine, figs? So neither can the salt water yield sweet.
"From out of the same mouth." This kind of sacred discipline has received nothing bitter to be emitted, nothing ungrateful.
Source: Quotations drawn from early Church Fathers and historical Christian theologians (AD 100–1500). Some quotes address the surrounding passage context rather than this verse alone.
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SUMMARY
James 3:11 poses a profound rhetorical question, "Doth a fountain send forth at the same place sweet [water] and bitter?" This verse serves as a powerful natural analogy within James's discourse on the tongue, asserting the spiritual impossibility and logical absurdity of a single source—the human heart, expressed through speech—simultaneously producing both pure, life-giving words and corrupt, destructive words. It underscores the call for consistency and integrity in a believer's life, where the outward expression of speech must align with the inward reality of a transformed heart.
CONTEXT
EXPOSITION AND ANALYSIS
Key Word Analysis
Verse Breakdown
Literary Devices
James masterfully employs several literary devices in this verse. The most prominent is the Rhetorical Question, which "Doth a fountain send forth at the same place sweet [water] and bitter?" exemplifies. This question is not posed to elicit information but to make an emphatic assertion by inviting the audience to agree with an obvious negative answer, thereby underscoring the absurdity and impossibility of the situation described. Secondly, the verse functions as a powerful Analogy and Metaphor. The physical "fountain" is a direct metaphor for the human heart or inner being, and the "sweet" and "bitter" water represent the quality of one's speech (blessing or cursing). This analogy draws a clear parallel between a natural phenomenon and a spiritual truth, making the theological point accessible and undeniable. Finally, the verse uses stark Contrast by juxtaposing "sweet" and "bitter," emphasizing the irreconcilable difference between edifying and destructive speech, thereby highlighting the spiritual inconsistency James condemns.
THEOLOGICAL AND THEMATIC CONNECTIONS
James 3:11 profoundly connects to the biblical understanding of the heart as the wellspring of life and the ultimate source of all human expression. If the heart is genuinely renewed by God's Spirit, its outflow—our words and actions—should consistently reflect that divine nature. The verse challenges the superficiality of a faith that professes devotion to God while simultaneously engaging in speech that contradicts His character, particularly in how we treat others, who are made in God's image. It underscores the theological truth that true spiritual transformation is holistic, impacting every facet of our being, including our most common and potent form of expression: our words.
REFLECTION AND APPLICATION
James 3:11 serves as a piercing mirror, inviting believers to a deep and honest self-examination of their speech patterns. It compels us to move beyond superficial adherence to faith and to confront any inconsistencies between our profession and our practice. If our words fluctuate between praise and profanity, encouragement and criticism, truth and gossip, then this verse suggests a deeper issue at the "fountain"—the heart itself. The application is not merely to control the tongue through willpower, but to seek a more profound transformation of the inner person. It calls us to pray for and actively cultivate a heart so saturated with the love and truth of Christ that only "sweet water"—words that edify, bless, and honor God and neighbor—can consistently flow forth. This requires humility, repentance, and a continual dependence on the Holy Spirit to purify our motives and sanctify our speech, ensuring our outward expressions genuinely align with our inward commitment to Christ.
Questions for Reflection
FAQ
Why does James use a rhetorical question here?
Answer: James uses a rhetorical question to make an undeniable point through common sense and natural observation. By asking, "Doth a fountain send forth at the same place sweet [water] and bitter?", he expects an obvious "No" from his audience. This technique powerfully underscores the absurdity and spiritual impossibility of a believer's mouth simultaneously producing both blessing and cursing. It's a way of saying, "Just as this is impossible in nature, so it is impossible and contradictory in the spiritual life of a genuine follower of Christ." It forces the reader to confront the inconsistency directly.
What does "at the same place" signify in this verse?
Answer: The phrase "at the same place" (Greek: ek tou autoú topou) is crucial because it emphasizes the singular origin or source. It means that the inconsistency James is addressing is not about different sources producing different outcomes, but about one and the same source—the human heart, which manifests through speech—being the origin of contradictory expressions. Just as a single spring cannot yield both pure and contaminated water, a single heart that claims to be transformed by God should not produce both words of blessing and words of cursing. It highlights the call for integrity and consistency from a unified inner being.
Is it truly impossible for a Christian to speak both good and bad, as the verse implies?
Answer: James's rhetorical question highlights a fundamental spiritual principle and an ideal for Christian living, rather than stating a literal impossibility for fallen human beings. While Christians, due to their ongoing struggle with sin, can and do unfortunately speak both good and bad at times, James is asserting that "these things ought not so to be" (James 3:10). The verse calls believers to a higher standard of consistency and purity, challenging the notion that such contradictory speech is acceptable or indicative of a truly transformed heart. It points to the need for deeper heart work and reliance on the Holy Spirit to bring one's speech into alignment with their faith, so that the "fountain" of the heart consistently yields "sweet water."
CHRIST-CENTERED FULFILLMENT
James 3:11, with its emphasis on the purity and consistency of a source, finds its ultimate fulfillment and solution in Jesus Christ. He is the perfect "fountain" from whom only "sweet water"—words of truth, grace, and life—ever flowed. Unlike the inconsistent human heart, Jesus's words were always in perfect alignment with the Father's will, always edifying, always pure, and always life-giving. He declared, "If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, 'Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water'" (John 7:37-38). This "living water" is the Holy Spirit, whom Christ provides, transforming the bitter springs of our fallen hearts into sources of life. Through His atoning work, Christ purifies the "fountain" of our being, enabling us to genuinely produce good fruit, including words that bless and build up, rather than curse and tear down. He is the source of the new nature that makes consistent, righteous speech not just an ideal, but a Spirit-empowered reality for those who abide in Him, echoing His teaching that "out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks" and that our words will ultimately reveal the state of our hearts on the day of judgment (Matthew 12:34-37).